Winner Winner - that's Chicken in my Dinner...

Chicken, Mushrooms and Spaghetti noodles.  All three together?  Winner winner chicken dinner.  Oh yes – I DID just say that.  [cringe]
This is a Mr. Food Recipe.  Remember him?  He used to be on the news, do a food segment with his gigantic white puffy chef’s hat and huge nose?  No?  Really?  Am I the only one who remembers this dude?  Eh… still a good recipe even if you can’t remember things. :)
This is an easy one – can be made a day ahead and baked the next day… also good to freeze and reheat.  That is… if you have room in your freezer… which we might not have anymore…. Since I went freezer meal crazy….

Chicken TetrazziniWhat you Need!
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
8 ounces fresh or canned mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)
2 cups low-fat milk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup dry white wine or water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken breast
1/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs

Make it!Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  
Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain and set aside.
  
In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in mushrooms then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 4 to 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Stir in milk.
  
In a small cup, combine cornstarch and wine, and stir until smooth; slowly pour into mushroom mixture. Increase heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  
Remove from heat and stir in salt, pepper, and chicken.  Add spaghetti and toss until well coated. Spoon spaghetti mixture into prepared baking dish and sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs.
  
Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Myrtle Grace Motifs - April 2013 Newsletter

Dear Friends of Myrtle Grace Motifs!
We sincerely hope it’s really spring where you are.  We’ve heard so many people talk about snow still.  Eek!  Soon summer will be upon us and I know I’ll be longing for those snowy days.
We’ve been hard at work with punching new patterns and getting punching ready for more travel too. 

New Pattern – Flo’s Fresh Flowers
Several weeks ago we released a new pattern at the Online Needlework Show.  Flo’s Fresh Flowers is just in time for spring and summer.  All our distributors have it ready and in stock.


Trunks Shows
We are working on our Trunk Show Schedule for 2013, if you are interested in a trunk show, if it’s cross stitch, punch needle or both, please let us know and we’ll do our best to work you into the schedule.

Sneak Peeks on Facebook
If you like us on Facebook, have been watching new patterns unfold in punch.  Be sure to like us on Facebook to see new patterns first.  https://www.facebook.com/MyrtleGraceMotifs

The Misadventures of Myrtle Grace
Looking for some cake ideas?  How about a freezer meal or two?  Maybe a dessert?  Be sure to check out our blog.  www.myrtlegrace.blogspot.com

Distributors
We are proud to be represented by these fine companies:
Hoffman Distributing Company - www.hoffmandis.com
Norden Crafts - www.nordencrafts.com
Yarn Tree - www.yarntree.com

Where did 2 years go?

Ahh, Miss Anika,  She’s 2!  When did that happen?  Such a big girl - with so many teeth!  This year’s cake request came her mom.  Something to match the quilt she was getting from my mom.  Well… I decided to go with the colors and theme – pink, green and flowers.  I’ve seen some cupcakes on Pinterest that made flowers out of marshmallows – perfect!  I cut the marshmallows in half diagonally and put them in a zip lot bag with pink sanding sugar.  Shake shake shake!  Perfect petals!  I also rolled each cupcake’s edges in the same sanding sugar.  Turned out super cute for a super cute 2 year old!

Guess who is 4? (ok... will be on Thursday - details)

 It was a year ago that I permanently scarred my nephew – for life.  I attempted to create a Cat in the Hat – Hat cake for him for his 3rd birthday – which looked more like, well, a pile of red and black slop.  Poor kid – couldn’t even guess at what it was.
This year, I was determined to make a cake for Xander that he could understand what it was supposed to be.  Success!  I had so much fun making the cars out of red candy melts and sprinkles in a car shaped mold.  This cake was pretty easy, but it has lots of parts.  Yellow candy melts piped out for the road lines, crushed Oreos for the road, even green frosting for grass.  So fun and yes he knew what it was!

Just needs a little…. flavor.

Aren’t these muffins beautiful?  Puffy, light and airy,   The crumb top looks crunchy and yummy too!  See how looks can be deceiving?    These muffins claimed to be New York Style Coffee Cake Muffins.  I have no clue what that means… unless you define that as bland.  What are these muffins?  Bland.  I guess if you added some cinnamon filling to the muffin part, or more something anywhere.
I ate two of these in search to find their awesomeness.   Andy ate one and then I heard the Cheerios hit the bowl.  He’d had enough.  Oh well.  Here’s the recipe – just in case you are looking for that perfect bland muffin to go with your weak coffee on a Sunday morning.  While you’re at it, don’t salt and pepper your eggs, seasoning is for wimps.
 

New York-Style Coffee Cake Crumb Muffins
What you need!
For the crumb topping:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 3/4 cups cake flour
For the muffin:
1 1/4 cup cake flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/3 cup plain yogurt)

Make it!
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin pan with baking cups or prepare panettone baking cups by spraying them lightly with cooking spray.
2.In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the butter over top and using a wooden spoon, mix until incorporated. Then add the cake flour and mix until mixture resembles a thick and cohesive dough. Set aside.
3.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes.
4.Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and buttermilk and mix until all has been incorporated and batter is light and fluffy.
5.Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, divide up batter into prepared muffin pan. Then, sprinkle a generous amount of the crumb topping on top. Do not press the crumb topping into the batter. Just let it sit on top.
6.Bake for 20 minutes or until crumbs are golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. (Note: I did stick my muffins under the broiler at about  the 15 minute baking mark so the tops would get nice and brown. If you do this, make sure to watch it carefully. You do not have to do the broiler step and can omit it completely.)
7.Let muffins cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8.Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.